The Death Race
by Paradoxicality
Summary: The Doctor is forced into a game where he must fight for the survival of his companions. But at what cost? And what risks will he take to help out the other players.
1. Chapter 1

The Doctor pushed open the heavy oak door with intense curiosity, his head scanning the room ahead. At first it seemed like nothing more than a deserted, hollow room, with a few dusty chairs stacked in the corner, and the once varnished wooden floors and elegant bay windows left to age ungracefully. But then the Doctor heard that sound. The sound he had heard so often, and so often spelt trouble. The sound of a child crying. The Doctor followed his ears, Amy and Rory cautiously following behind him. They stopped when the Doctor whispered "Hello." to a small heap in the top-right corner. Amy felt a twinge of guilt that she had looked on it as a pile of clothes, her normally keen perception failing to spot the small body inside of them. The crying stopped momentarily, and a small pale face with large bloodshot eyes looked up. He stared at the three of them, his lips wobbling as he tried to maintain a momentary air of calm. He failed.

"Come now." The Doctor said, pulling his trousers up and crouching down. "What can I do for you my young friend?"

The boy looked up, brushing his eyes with the back of his hand.

"My mum. She...she's gone through that door," he pointed towards a cream coloured door opposite them, against the left side of the room. "She told me to wait here but I heard her scream and I dunno what to do." He spluttered, all manner of bodily fluids streaming from his orifices as he did so.

"Well," Amy said, placing her hands on her knees in what felt like a slightly patronising way "It's lucky we came along. My friend here, the Doctor, is great at finding people. I'm great if you ever need a hug. And this guy...well if you ever want a smile put back on your face, you just have to look at him really." Amy gave a grin to Rory who once again felt both proud and slightly belittled.

The boy looked at her cautiously, before scrambling to his knees and shuffling into the arms of the Doctor, who was slightly taken aback.

"Right well, uh, I'll leave you in the capable hands of Mr and Mrs Pond while I go get your mum back-"

"No! Please stay Mister." The boy burrowed his head inside the Doctor's jacket. The Doctor looked slightly perplexed before looking up at Amy and Rory for assistance.

"Looks like you and me are on mum-hunting duty then Amy." Rory said.

"Fine by me. And you'll be OK Doctor?" Amy said, tongue in cheek.

"I'm sure I'll be just fine. You two be careful."

The pair nodded before heading through the cream door. The door slammed shut. The recognisable screams of Amy and Rory echoed out behind it.

The Doctor turned and stared. "Oh no. I've got to-" He turned down to the small boy, who had disappeared. His shirt was no longer damp with tears, and his trousers were neat and creaseless. He jumped to his feet and frantically looked around himself, taking in as much information about the situation in the least amount of time possible. Two access points. Closed window. House was no larger than 100 square meters. They'd entered from the back of the room on the left, the very left wall being the edge of the house. Then how was there a door on the left side wall? And why did the window on the right side look out?

The Doctor sprinted over to the door and pulled it open.

"Rory! Amy!" He yelled into the dark abyss on the other side. A spotlight shone down on him. Its' glow illuminated a light metal floor beneath his feet.

"No. It can't be, can it?" The Doctor looked up to the sound of this chirpy voice.

"It is isn't it? It's the Doctor!" Hovering above him about twenty meters away was a dishevelled man. His eyes hollow and his clothes little more than scraps of material pieced together. His hair was dark and shoulder length, wavy and unkempt. He was sat comfortably on a large steel throne as if it was a common household sofa. He kept moving his head from one side to another, looking the Doctor up and down in the most amazed fashion.

"Who are you? Where is that little boy and his mother? More to the point where are my friends, Amy and Rory?" The Doctor bellowed, stamping his presence.

"Now now Doctor, you're not living up to my expectations at all. You can't tell that that human was nothing more than a sub-particle holographic image? And people said you were to be feared."

The Doctor cursed at himself. How could he have been so foolhardy? "And what about Amy and Rory, they were real last time I checked." The Doctor yelled.

The man chuckled. "Oh the irony." He clapped his hands and dozens of lights slowly turned on. The Doctor noticed he was within a small glass chamber surrounded by machinery and flashing lights. But more interestingly the glass chamber was within a room about twice the size of the whole house. Metal and machinery was everywhere, far too intricate to take in at once. Then the Doctor's amazement turned to fear and grief. To his left side was Amy, to his right Rory. Both stared at him blankly, their faces shimmering like plastic, with large jaw pieces attached to where their mouths once were, resembling the most horrific of lifelike dummies.

The man chuckled once again. "Welcome, Doctor, to the death race!"


	2. Chapter 2

"What is this? What have you done to Amy and Rory?" The Doctor yelled, pushing his face up against the glass.

"It's just a little game, Doctor. I've heard of you, of your sense of excitement and...absolute moral values. I always thought you'd be perfect for this, but never dreamed I'd actually get you here."

"And where is here exactly?"

"On a small space station, situated just outside of Arzon IV, as to avoid federal law, you'll understand. That house you entered was a portal to here, I have them placed all over the galaxy, but most recently seeing how emotional humans get, I've increased my selection from there."

The Doctor's face was stern now. He understood what was going on. He was in a game made purely for one madman's amusement, and by the sound of it, it was based off of the suffering of others.

"What are the rules?" The Doctor said morosely, knowing his only option was to play. The man smiled crookedly as his chair zoomed back slowly.

"Your friends are currently under my control, and I have but one order for them; come get me. All they have to do is walk up their respective ramps towards me. Once there, all three of you may leave." The Doctor noticed that the man was directly in the middle of a circle, encompassing the whole room. Six ramps, big enough to fit three people side by side, splayed out from him to the edge of the circle, two of which ended where Rory and Amy stood, limp and motionless. The ramps themselves were over 100m long with no visible edges, lying above a dark emptiness underneath them.

"Three rules Doctor. Number one; you must help them reach me. Otherwise..." The man snapped his fingers. Instantaneously, a series of large mechanisms sprung into action. Saw blades rose from the ramps, hammers swung down from the ceiling, trap doors opened- the number of times one person could die was innumerable. The Doctor's brow furrowed.

"But don't worry Doctor, you just have to override my gizmos. All the buttons you'll ever need are right there in front of you. Trouble is I kind of forgot to label them-sorry." The Doctor turned from the man's joyful face down to the equally innumerable number of buttons, levers and switches laid out in front of him.

"Number two; you have some opponents." Lights switched on both sides of the Doctor. He could now make out two more sets of people, both arranged in the same manner as himself; there was a fairly young girl with dark auburn hair, huddled in a corner, sobbing quietly. Either side of her chamber stood two young looking boys, once again looking like disturbing life-size dolls. On the Doctors other side was a middle aged woman with short, straw-like hair. She was staring intently at the buttons but looked up when she noticed the Doctor had come into view. Her face seemed pale and drained of all life. She had a large, portly man one side of her and a petite, smartly dressed woman the other side.

"No." The Doctor whispered under his breath.

"It wouldn't be a race without opponents now would it?" The man said, looking across to each chamber and smirking.

"Oh, and number three, especially for you Doctor; no sonicing. This is pricey equipment." The Doctor shuffled in his pocket but realised has sonic screwdriver had already gone.

"Are we ready to start?" The man looked to each chamber for acknowledgement. No one dared look at him. "Good. Then may the best team win!" The man threw his arms up in an extravagant fashion, his eyes lighting up with sick excitement.

"Wait! I can't just let this happen. What kind of person are you to kidnap people and force them to death for your own amusement?" The Doctor bellowed, his voice strong and harsh.

"The best kind, Doctor." The man said, without a hint of irony.

"What's your name?" The Doctor seethed, his body shaking now.

"Call me...the Puppeteer. And yours?" The Doctor stood in silence. "Yes, well, I have heard about this secretive side of yours. Such a pain really. Anyway shouldn't you be helping your friends? One of them looks like she's heading for a fall."


	3. Chapter 3

The Doctor's eyes darted to his left. Both Amy and Rory were moving now, but no more than a step every ten seconds. Their faces remained blank, impervious to the danger surrounding them. The Doctor instantly spotted that Amy was barely a few steps from a large trap door that had swung open in front of her. He instantly jumped to the controls, banging on the buttons in a manic order. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the blonde lady similarly jamming on switches and lights. The young brunette, however, was stood, visibly shaking, her hands hovering over the buttons. The Doctor's heart fell for a moment before he realised his own situation. He felt like he'd pressed most of the buttons by now but in reality he knew he wasn't even close to having pressed half. He gritted his teeth and with an ever increasing anger yanked on a random lever to his right. The trap door swung close as Amy's foot came down above it. The Doctor put a hand to his head in an attempt to get hold of the situation. He looked across to Rory who seemed to be in no real danger for now.

His attention was immediately drawn back to the young brunette who still seemed unable to react. The Doctor looked around himself, and noticed a small intercom device on side of the wall. He pushed the button and a red light flashed on.

"Hello? Hello, can you hear me? My name's the Doctor." He called, giving a wave while keeping one eye on his companions. The young woman looked up, surprised to hear another voice.

"Hello. What's your name?" The Doctor asked, his voice as calm as the situation would allow.

"Sarah." She replied, cold and precise.

"Now listen to me Sarah, I know this is a horrible situation but your friends are in danger right now and they need your help. Just jam any buttons you see, OK?"

"Harry and George." She said, staring out to the vast metal room ahead.

"I'm sorry?"

"It's my boyfriend, Harry. And his best friend George. My best friend George." The Doctor nodded solemnly.

"Then do it for Harry and George. You're their protector now; they need you more than ever. Do it for them." That effervescent quality that exudes from the Doctor, pushing people to become more than they are hit Sarah like an icy wind. She breathed out, and, slightly more calmly than her competitors, began pushing buttons and twisting knobs. The Doctor smiled slightly.

"Look out!" A voice screamed over the intercom. The Doctor turned to his right to see that it had come from the older lady. She was pointing towards Rory, who was quickly heading towards a series of crushing walls, positioned either side of the walkway and heavily crashing into one another in the middle. The Doctor bounced towards the controls, mashing them once again. "There's got to be a catch. This can't purely be a game of chance." The Doctor muttered to himself.

"Try the big red button on your left!" The woman shouted across.

"What big red button?" The Doctor said, furiously scouring the panel. He pushed several small red buttons but to no avail. At last, after precisely twenty random switch presses, the crusher came to a stop, as Rory stumbled through obliviously. The Doctor banged his fists against the control panel in anger. He looked across and saw he had also fortunately stopped a large spiked ball from falling onto Amy. He glared at the Puppeteer who gave a cheery wave.

"You're remarkably calm." The Doctor said without looking up at the woman to his right.

"You've got to be. Like you said to Sarah it's all on us to save them." The Doctor smiled gently, his faith reaffirmed in the good of people.

"What's your name?"

"Linda. And you're Doctor...what?" Linda asked, mashing several more buttons at a time.

"Just the Doctor. And, uh, who are...?"

"My husband and my best friend. Just like Sarah really." Linda's eyes filled with water. She looked down and momentarily stopped her frantic movements. She composed herself and carried on. "Can I presume the girl is your other half and the man your best friend?"

The Doctor let out a hearty laugh.

"No, no, definitely not. Well, he is a good friend but...no I travel with them. They're married to each other; recently in fact. This is hardly a great couple's retreat." The Doctor lightly touched a button, out of curiosity more than anything. Silence descended. The whirring of machinery and shuffling of brain dead feet was the only thing to be heard.

"Why are we here Doctor?" Linda's face was stony cold, her eyes once again full of tears. And for once the Doctor had no response. No rhyme or reason, no reassuring quip. He couldn't even guarantee their safety. His hearts skipped a beat.

"To play his game." The Doctor responded.


	4. Chapter 4

"Where are you from?" The Doctor said, looking across to a somewhat calm Sarah.

"Worcester. We just moved there, Harry and me. George had come to visit. We were just going to a pub and then..." She drifted off, the reality of the situation falling heavy upon her. "What about you?" She said at last.

"Oh, a long way, especially from here. I'd say...twenty-five megalight-years? Give or take a mile." He smiled gently.

"So then, how did you end up here?" She asked.

"Ah, the usual; chasing an alien life form around a small village, runs into what looks like deserted mansion, turns out to be a portal to a twisted intergalactic game show."

Sarah stared at the Doctor intently for a few seconds before continuing her button presses.

"There's something about you, isn't there? I'm guessing you're alien, which on any other day would've been enough but...you're different."

The Doctor looked across to her. He didn't know how to respond.

"You're going to win this, aren't you?" She said solemnly.

The Doctor was taken aback. He knew that this was just another ludicrous adventure the universe had thrown at him, but he became aware of something, deep down inside, that expected to come out scot free. To be back in the TARDIS, off to somewhere else, with Rory and Amy in a few hours time. He suddenly felt extremely low and extremely humbled.

"I'm in the same position as you, fighting to save my friends. The only difference is I will do my upmost to save every single person in this room, because that's what I do."

Sarah briefly stared at him before nodding and brushing the hair from her face.

"Sorry." She said quietly.

"Thank you Doctor." Called Linda from the other side of the room. The Doctor spun around and gave a courteous nod, before continuing his button presses.

"Yes, thank you Doctor." The Puppeteer said in a faux appreciation, a smirk rapidly creeping across his face. The Doctor ignored him.

"You know, I would've thought this was perfectly suited to you Doctor. Picking peoples' fate whilst death surrounds you. Engineering the lives of others high up on your perch; you're all the same you Time Lords." The Doctor looked up briefly at a mention of the forgotten race. The Puppeteer glared back in attempt to see the cracks appearing in his opponents' eyes, but to no avail. He quickly turned his attention.

"And Linda, sweet Linda. Always there for her family; outside of office hours, of course. I mean, it wouldn't do to put your children before your career would it? How is that son of yours?" Linda visibly froze in place, her heart plummeting to the floor. She seemed close to collapsing altogether.

"Oh right, yeah, I forgot, sorry," The Puppeteer bluntly stated, covering his mouth in fake shock. "But then it would've been so inappropriate to leave work early to go look after him wouldn't it? Quite the shame though."

"That's enough!" The Doctor yelled, banging the glass in front of him. The Puppeteer smiled. He'd succeeded; the only way to break the Doctor was to break the people around him.

"Oh Sarah!" The Puppeteer called. She looked up, her eyes dark and hollow. The Puppeteer looked across to the enraged Doctor and smiled broadly.  
"Carry on." He said, his eyes barely leaving the Doctor's.


	5. Chapter 5

And then she screamed. And the Doctor's heart broke. He dared not look over. The blood pumped through his body, a toxic mix of pure anger and utter devastation. He'd broken a promise, and let her down, but there was nothing he could do to rectify it.

Because he knew that scream. That heart-wrenching cry, not so unlike a child's. He'd been there so many times before, and even to look at her would be to take himself back to that place again. He checked on Rory and Amy, wiped his now damp eyes, and looked across at Linda. She was stoic, observing what had happened on the other side of the room. She herself seemed to be welling up, but attempting to keep some form of stability purely to look after her own loved ones. Her eyes met the Doctor's, and they aired their sorrow in unspoken words.

At last the Doctor pushed himself to look. Sarah was in a corner once again, foetal position, reduced to nothing more than a broken woman.

"Sarah." The Doctor said softly. She did not respond, not even to look up. The Doctor thought for a moment.

"You can let her go now." He said, his voice piercing the silence.

"Oh, can I? Well thank you Doctor!" The Puppeteer snarled. Even he seemed less jovial.

"You've got what you wanted; to see the utter devastation of a person. No one should be put through that grief, especially on purpose through some sick game. Now you let her go and you make sure she's safe."

"I...don't want..." Sarah barely spoke through the floods of tears.

The Doctor closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. When he opened them, she was gone. He looked across to the Puppeteer.

"Don't worry; she's back where she came from. Even wiped her memory, because that's the kind of guy I am." He said with a smirk.

"You what? So she's got no recollection of what happened to her boyfriend and best friend, no idea of the chaos you put her through?" The Doctor yelled.

"I know, my work goes unnoticed. Such a shame. Isn't it always the way though?"

"Then what is all this? What's the point other than to kill innocent people?"

"Because life isn't fair!" The Puppeteer screamed. Both the Doctor and Linda were taken aback by this change in the madman's otherwise focused presence. He seemed to take a moment to collect himself before clicking his fingers. The set of ramps and control panel once belonging to Sarah disappeared into the darkness below.

"What now?" The Doctor said, somewhat rhetorically.

"Just trying to make things interesting."

The Doctor looked across. Linda and her section of the playfield were slowly rotating around the middle, heading towards him. After a few seconds his control station was directly next to Linda's. He walked over to the glass separating them and placed a hand gently on it. Linda followed suit. The glass slowly descended between them and Linda jumped at the Doctor, hugging him in a vice like embrace. He was taken aback, but knew it was nothing to do with him really; he could've been anyone, she just needed physical contact, to know what was real.

"Your teammates will now be heading towards me at twice the speed. So think fast. You could choose to help the other player. Of course some of us are more into sabotage, eh Doctor?" The Puppeteer grinned. The Doctor looked down briefly. Linda seemed to pick up on this.

"What's he mean Doctor?"

"See it doesn't take them long to realise you're not all you're cracked up to be does it? Quite the shame. Anyway, play nice."


	6. Chapter 6

The Doctor threw down his jacket and rolled up his sleeves.

"It is quite warm in here." Linda noted. She had rolled up her sleeves previously, but now beads of sweat were developing on her forehead; the Doctor thought these to be due to anxiety rather than the warmth of the place.

The Doctor seemed to be spending an increasing amount of time by Linda's control panel, twisting and smashing buttons much more frequently than his own. She stood back and watched him for a second.

"You don't need to do this, you know. It's not your fault."

"But it is my responsibility." The Doctor stated. Linda was intrigued.

"And how did you decide upon this exactly?" The Doctor was silent for a moment.

"It's what I do, it's..." he chose his words carefully. "It's my duty. My self-appointed duty, but my duty none the less."

"You sound like a warrior, a soldier almost."

The Doctor stopped briefly. He didn't like to be classed as such, even when he had been one officially. Armies and trained military never tended to share his vision for right and wrong; they were too in the moment, too caught up in completing the mission at all costs. Never stopping to see the wider picture. He stood back from the controls and returned to his own side.

"Sorry." He said quietly.

"What for now? I...I just don't get you, Doctor. You sound like the type of person everyone strives to be; a hero for all. And yet certain things seem to make you flinch and snap and..."

Linda looked upwards for a moment. She hadn't noticed before-the ceiling was made of glass, and looked out to the open night sky. She saw stars and lights and glowing colours she could've never even imagined. Planets bathed in oranges and greens, some so clear it seemed as if she could see them rotate. She was taken aback, amazed to find such beauty at such a dark time. The Doctor's eyes followed hers.

"That's what makes it worth it. All the travelling I do, all the hardships and the devastation I see; I always know that the universe will still be there, and at any one time someone, somewhere can admire its beauty." The Doctor mused. Linda looked at him and smiled.

"And I thought we grew cynical with age." The Puppeteer called out.

"Even you can't miss that some things are just beautiful. I can see you, the real you, and I can see you have emotions and a heart somewhere, deep down. Does that scare you?" The Doctor said, feeling like he was gaining the upper hand for the first time in a while.

The Puppeteer stared blankly at him. "Don't be so quaint Time Lord."

"See, what I've noticed is that there are no family members here. Sure, you brought in boyfriends and husbands and best friends, but no one related directly. That seems a little too coincidental to me." The Puppeteer didn't respond. The Doctor flicked a switch in an assured manner.

"What happened? Someone did something to you, something to a family member, am I right? I've seen it thousands of times before, getting revenge on the universe but never being able to replicate what happened to you because of the pain."

"You want to push me Doctor? Are you forgetting that I can push you?" He zoomed down and hovered next to Amy. Her glare towards the middle of the room remained as the Puppeteer stroked her hair in a patronising and creepy manner. The Doctor held his position.

"What's killing these people doing for you? It doesn't bring anyone back, doesn't make the pain easier to deal with. It just masks it with sick melancholy." The Doctor yelled, his voice harsh now.

The Puppeteer grabbed Amy's shoulders in response. "Shall I push her off Doctor? Will that make things easier? Will getting revenge on me help you cover up all the loss in your life?" His eyes were mad now, his burning soul on full display.

"Just look at her." The Doctor said, his voice a mere whisper. The Puppeteer did nothing.

"Look at her." The Doctor ordered.

At last the Puppeteer did as he was told. His face dropped. Inexplicably, a single tear had emerged from Amy's dead eyes and had trickled down her cheek. The Puppeteer took in her face, her eyes, her skin. Everything seemed so calm for just that moment. His fire was extinguished.

"She shouldn't be doing that." He said at last.

"It doesn't matter what kind of cover you use to try and dull emotions, they always find a way to get through," The Doctor said humbly. "I imagine Sarah is back home now, crying her eyes out. She won't know why, but the pain and grief inside her will want to come out, to be near the surface. Because that's the only way to get better, to feel that pain, embrace it."

The Puppeteer seemed to tighten his grip on Amy before letting go and hovering back to the middle. He sat in silence, not looking at anything or anyone. Linda rubbed the Doctor's arm softly.

"You won." She said.


	7. Chapter 7

A large swinging axe finished its' course a few metres from Rory's body. The Doctor sighed heavily. He observed the switch he had just pressed. Nothing seemed particularly special about it, but there had to be some connection, some rationale as to what did what. He may be a madman but if nothing else the Puppeteer clearly wanted someone to win, or at least gave people the chance not to lose. He could just quite as easily have transported them out to some lava pit if he'd have wanted deaths. But no, he wanted the suffering, the anxiety and pressure on that one person fighting to save their loved ones. And most of all, he wanted that little bit of hope and satisfaction when the right mechanism is hit to be quickly overthrown but the pain of loss.

"Is it weird that I'm used to this now? I mean, by the looks of things they've almost made it to the middle, but it's felt like I've spent most of my life pressing these damn buttons." Linda commented.

"Yeah." The Doctor said absentmindedly. Then he stopped, and looked across. "Which buttons exactly?"

"What do you mean?" She said, wondering how to indicate the range of buttons in front of her, other than pointing straight at the control panel.

"Well, do you have an order? Do you press them each time in a specific way? By the sounds of it you're a businesswoman, you must be methodical, precise."

Linda remained confused but pointed towards the top left. "I start here, work my way down, then pull this lever, and then go onto the next row."

"And how many buttons are there in the row?"

"What? There are..." Linda counted hastily. "Eighteen. And the lever. You can see that."

The Doctor smiled broadly. "See that's the thing. I can't."

Linda stared at him before looking back down at the buttons.

"See to me in that row, there are five buttons, three levers, four switches, two twisty bits and a weird thing I'm pretty sure you have to pull then push."

"You mean...you mean it looks totally different to you? You see my control panel as something..."

"Something that I'm used to- my TARDIS. It's my spaceship of sorts and it's got a control panel not unlike that. And I'm going to assume you're used to order-"

"So mine is organised; it's neat and tidy. That's why it feels so familiar. It's like a map of my mind almost."

"Aha!" The Doctor raised a finger in acknowledgement. "If he has the power to know who to bring us here with, he has the power to see into our minds, and see what works best for us. If I had had a control panel of regimented buttons all grouped together and perfect I would've been lost. And equally if you'd had what I see you wouldn't know where to start. That's how he keeps us playing," Linda looked at the control panel in thought for a moment. "I want you to think, really think what you're seeing. Think where all those buttons are and how they relate to one another; their position, their size, it can't work. Convince yourself."

Linda stared intently at the control panel. She took a deep breath in, and focused on one particular button directly in front of her. It was a deep red, the light inside it bright and vivid. It was about the size of her thumb and...it was green. It wasn't red at all, it was a light green and...about the size of her whole hand. She moved her focus outwards as the buttons surrounding it began to change colour and shape. Some shrank, some disappeared altogether, and some even changed into other devices. She felt like someone had pulled back a film layer that was dangling in front of her eyes.

"What am I seeing now?" She asked, slightly dazed by the change.

"The real thing I would guess. A large green button, yes? Just two levers to the left and a few switches on the right?"

"But...what was I pressing?"

"Well, sometimes the real thing, sometimes just empty air."

"And just when you thought things couldn't get more peculiar. Thank you, Doctor."

The Doctor smiled and looked across to the Puppeteer proudly. He was expecting a face of disappointment and annoyance at them having fooled his perception screen. Instead he was smiling too. The Doctor was slightly unnerved. The Puppeteer simply shrugged and looked the Doctor dead in the eyes. It was his way of saying there was worse to come.


	8. Chapter 8

"What happens after all this Doctor? Do I just go live my life, act like nothing ever happened? I've...I've been to outer space. I've left the planet. And yet I feel like I couldn't, or at least wouldn't want to tell anyone. How do I go on?"

Something resonated with the Doctor. He felt like this was a question hundreds of people had asked him before, just never out loud. He took people on these amazing adventures, opened their eyes to the universe around them, and then just like that they were back at home, drinking tea and watch the television. The Doctor couldn't imagine being forced into that position, having all these wonders cut off from him. He shivered slightly before turning to face her.

"You remember the good. That's all we can ever do. You remember there's life out here; sure, you've seen the worst of it, but for every madman sat in a hovering chair there's ten others looking out for you, for all of us. Just think how lucky you are to have got to see it."

Linda nodded. "It must be amazing to travel with you."

"Try telling that to Amy and Rory right now. I'm old and stupid and put people into horrible situations like this all the time. Not on purpose, of course." He clarified.

"I'd love to live a life like that. No ties, no pressures, just adventures as wild as my imagination will allow." The Doctor smiled. It was far too easy to sell people on the idea.

"Your life doesn't seem that bad. You've got a husband, a set of friends, a career; some people would die for that."

"Even you can't put a spin on my life, Doctor." Linda said, gently moving her fingers back and forth over the control panel.

"I know it can be clichéd but you're the maker of your own destiny. How many times have you got up early to see the sun rise? Listened to bird song? Just gone to a beach and watched the waves drift onto the sand? Your planet is...so special, so unique."

Linda thought for a moment. Gears and metal whirred in the background. After a few moments she came back around and nodded her head gently.

"Who am I kidding; I'd die within the first day of doing what you do." She smiled. "I think I'm perfectly suited to sitting behind a desk, shuffling papers," She looked across. The Doctor seemed to have an aura about him, a presence that made her feel so humbled, as if she was in the company of someone so special. "I must seem so...small and boring to you."

"No, no," The Doctor vigorously shook his head. "If nothing else you're a whole other race to me. That's pretty amazing. Humans in general are amazing. I mean, look at you here, light years from home and saving your loved ones lives with no massive qualms."

The Doctor gave a reassuring pat on Linda's back and looked up. To his surprise Amy and Rory were nearly at the centre. Sure, danger still seemed to spring up with every step, but the Doctor was relieved, happy almost.

"Feeling pleased about things you take for granted- probably a plus point of the whole experience." Linda mused. "Doctor, are you going to stop this? I mean, stop this from happening to anyone else? Can you even?"

The Doctor looked across to her. The concern was obvious in her eyes. They stared at each other for far too long. The Doctor knew the answer, but dare not speak it. There was nothing he could do.


	9. Chapter 9

"We made it! I mean...we actually made it, we won!" Linda stared in disbelief as her husband and her best friend, and the Doctor's two friends, stood at the end of their ramps. She looked up at the Doctor, put a hand to her forehead and smiled. It'd been so long since she had. She jumped towards him and hugged him around the neck, her eyes watery now. But he was stiff, non-responsive. She slowed unwrapped her arms and looked at his heartbroken eyes.

"What's wrong? Is this like some alien way of being happy?" She jested. But his face remained stern. "Your friends are safe now, they made it to the end, we won."

"No we haven't. In order to win, we have to get them to him. But they've stopped, and there's a gap between the end of the ramps and the centre. We haven't won anything yet."

"There's the old cynic I was looking for!" The Puppeteer called out.

"But...I don't understand, we've won right? We made it to the end. What else can we do?"

The Puppeteer smiled. Even he hadn't expected his plan to pay off this well. "Just one last thing. In order to get across to me you need to raise a bridge for your teammates."

"How? I've pressed all these things a hundred times; it's never triggered a bridge before."

"Oh, don't worry, the trigger isn't there yet. Silly, forgetful me, eh?" The Puppeteer clicked his fingers. Directly in the middle of where the Doctor and Linda's control rooms met, a part of the floor fell out, and a large lever, easily half the size of the Doctor, rose in its' place.

"Just pull that lever and your loved ones can reach me, and most importantly you win."

Linda looked across to the Doctor in slight confusion. He remained stoic. She looked back at the Puppeteer who was beckoning her on.  
"Go on, give it a pull down."

Linda carefully looked around herself, before hesitantly moving behind the lever and putting both her hands on the top.

"Oh, just one more thing; pull that and the floor below the Doctor's friends falls out," Linda loosened her grip immediately and stared aghast at the Doctor. "Well, this flooring isn't cheap; it's good to recycle."

The Doctor was bent over the control panel now, anger burning through him.

"Don't be quite so concerned Doctor. Naturally you could pull the lever your way and save your friends. But, unfortunately, the floor would fall out below Linda's cohorts. What a pickle."

"Doctor." Linda said, almost under her breath. The Doctor didn't even have to look to know that she was trembling and full of tears.

"You can't do this." The Doctor said finally.

"Not this again. Bit of a God-complex going on there, I'd go get that seen to if I was you. By a real doctor though, eh?" The Puppeteer hissed, his words burning like acid.

"Doctor, do something." Linda whispered, her voice shaking terribly.

"And I guess this wouldn't be a game without a countdown," The Puppeteer called. "Five minutes. No decision by then and you all die. We can't all be winners here."

Across the other side of the room, behind the Puppeteer, a massive digital display appeared, covering the expanse of the whole wall. The Puppeteer looked behind him as the time began to sink away. He looked back and shrugged in the cruellest of manners.

The Doctor slowly turned to look at Linda who was by now a mess. Her hands remained clasped around the lever, but they were shaking and shivering violently. Her face was drowned in tears. She looked the Doctor in the eyes and shook her head.

"What now?" She managed.

The Doctor moved slowly towards her and clasped his hands around hers. She stopped shaking slightly, a rare air of calm descending upon her.

"You choose." The Doctor said quietly.

Linda viciously shook her head. "No, no Doctor you can't, you can't make me, I...I just can't do this."

The Doctor closed his eyes and bowed his head slightly.

"Doctor I love them. It's my husband, the only man I've ever loved, and Rachel, oh God, Rachel she's like...a sister." Linda put an unsteady hand to her hair and combed it through.

"You can't do this to me Doctor, you just can't' I refuse, I refuse to do anything, we can all die, we'll just all go together."

The Doctor looked up and looked her in the eyes.

"Why can't you just be a normal person some...unimportant human like the rest of us? Why do you have to be special, so important...it's not fair...it's not right. Why do you deserve this and not me?" Linda was sobbing uncontrollably by now. The Doctor glanced across to the clock; two minutes, ten seconds.

"How can I do this, Doctor? How can I live with myself? Knowing...knowing it's my fault, it was my choice. I have to save them Doctor, I just have to." The Doctor felt Linda's grip tighten and her hands tug slightly. She soon reverted back, however.

"Does death mean nothing to you, Doctor? Is it just a triviality, a mere every day event to you now? Have you even lost someone, Doctor?" Linda immediately caught the Doctor's eyes. Her questioning had triggered something. His eyes were teary too but there was something more, something so obvious. They spoke of heartache and loss and pain that had been suppressed for years upon decades upon centuries. Things that any normal person would've given up on life because of. He carried this around and lived with them day after day. Linda's own heart suddenly felt cold. And with that she pushed the lever towards the Doctor.

"No." The Doctor said quietly.

The timer stopped. The floor dropped. And Amy and Rory walked casually to safety.

"This time, just this once, you won." Linda said, a faint smile breaking through the rolling tears.


	10. Chapter 10

The Doctor didn't dare to look up. He felt ashamed, another burden weighed heavy on his shoulders. A hand touched his arm, and he hesitantly looked up.

"I did this for you, Doctor. Not because I felt obliged or forced but because it's obvious the good you do. In a weird sort of way you stop stuff like this from ever happening." Linda said, her eyes still streaming with tears.

"But they shouldn't have died. No matter the price, no one should've had to die." The Doctor said sternly.

"Doctor!" The Puppeteer called as he slowly moved towards the two of them. "Truth be told, if I was a betting man, I would've guessed you'd come out triumphant. I guess the blood on your hands was worth it, eh?" Linda instinctively put an arm around the Doctor; she felt motherly over this old alien.

"The Doctor did none of this- this all your fault. I don't know how you can live with yourself, you sicken me." Linda yelled, wiping her face with her hand.

"No, my dear, I don't know how _you_ can live with _yourself_. I didn't kill anyone. Murder is such a sinful act, you should be ashamed." The Puppeteer smirked.

"You listen to me; I want to be sent back home, with all my memories intact. I want to remember what happened, how I lost those two, and most importantly, I want to remember you and what you did to me; to all of us." Linda seethed. The Puppeteer stared at her.

"If you respect any of us at all, you'll grant her wish." The Doctor finally broke his silence in a subdued but powerful manner. The Puppeteer seemed to seriously consider his response.

"If that's what you want," He finally said. "And the prize for the victor."

He snapped his fingers. Amy and Rory appeared in the control room. The puppet like jaw piece around their mouths fell to the floor and their eyes came to life. They both looked around themselves before jumping at each other and then the Doctor, none of them speaking a word, tears rolling down all their faces. The Doctor calmed the two of them down when he noticed Linda was uncomfortable.

"I'm so, so sorry. If I could've done-"

"Doctor, please don't. You're clearly worth the universe."

The Doctor managed a smile.

"Amy, Rory, I'd like you to meet the single greatest woman of the human race." Rory gave a subtle nod and Amy wrapped her arms around Linda, whispering _thank you_ in her ear. They both wiped tears from their eyes afterwards.

"Doctor, can't Linda travel with us? I mean, it'd be your way of showing just what you're worth. And she'd have an amazing time." Amy asked, rubbing her eyes dry.

"We already discussed that; I don't think I'd be cut out for it. But I don't think I want my humdrum life back either. I'm gonna take your advice, Doctor, explore the world, see our planet; it's only after you leave it you realise how wondrous it is." Linda said, looking out to glistening space outside.

"That sounds perfect." The Doctor said.

"But Doctor; don't let the pain ever get the better of you. Because that's the day you lose for good." As Linda noted this, she began to fade away until a wisp of blue gas remained. All three of them looked across to the Puppeteer.

"She's safe. And with memories. A consolation prize, shall we say."

The Doctor didn't respond. The Puppeteer was directly outside the glass enclosure now.

"Well, it's been a pleasure, Doctor. Certainly lived up to my hopes and desires."

Still no response.

"What? Planning your revenge? How do you plan to take me down, Doctor?"

The Doctor slowly moved over to the glass. He leant over the still beeping and twinkling control panel, and got as close to the Puppeteer as possible.

"I don't plan to destroy you. I intend to find out what made you so mad, such a scorned, vile person. Because maybe then I can understand all this. And maybe then I can stop you." The Doctor said in a slight whisper.

The Puppeteer was clearly taken aback. He stared directly in the Doctor's eyes and shivered slightly. Then he clicked his fingers, and they were all gone.

...

The TARDIS dematerialised near the edge of a cliff. It was late evening, and the ocean was lapping against the rocky bay below. The Doctor emerged from the TARDIS and took a sniff of the air, smiling in response.

"Why do I get the pansy? I always feel like you're implying something." Rory said, emerging from the TARDIS carrying a vivid red flower.

"Course not Rory, why would I ever do such a thing?"

"Well then why do you get the cosmos? And why does Amy get a rose and a lily?"

"Sheer coincidence." The Doctor said, looking out to the distance.

The sun was slowly descending behind the hills in the distance. Amy and Rory could only stop and marvel.

"Right, let's get digging before it goes away altogether." The Doctor said, getting down on bent knees and using a trowel to create small holes.

The sun blazed a glorious orange that reflected off the water below, just as the final plant was buried. The three stood up and admired their memorial, comprising of four vividly coloured flowers.

"It's perfect," Amy said. "I never realised how special the Earth was 'til I met you." She said, looking up to the Doctor. He looked back and smiled.

Down on the cobbled beach below Linda pulled her jumper on. The evening wind had begun to pick up. She'd only managed to write a few chapters of her book today, but it still felt like a good amount of progress. She stood and collected her things and looked up to the cliff above. Three figures, shrouded by shadow, stood at the edge. She stared in confusion, trying to get a better look to see if her suspicions were correct. But soon they disappeared, followed by an unearthly whirring sound. Linda took a deep breath in, and moved back along the beach as the waves washed in once more.


End file.
